Friends, and More?
by ArcheryGirlAlisha
Summary: Nico di Angelo has been lonely for most of his life. His friends don't understand him, he thinks. He's recluse. He doesn't open up to people. His father, Hades, tells him to stay at Camp Half-Blood. Apparently a new demigod's going to arrive. According to Hades' instructions, they have to be friends. Or will something more happen? (set after HOO. kinda OOC. also AU)
1. Chapter 1

p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"strongA/N:/strong I wrote this a while back but i never got to posting it so yeah… here it is! It's probably crap and I dont really have a plot for this one. I'm just gonna go wherever the wind takes /(I also posted this on tumblr and wattpad so if you see something like this on there, thats probs me)/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Disclaimer: I own nothing. All the characters(except the OC), places and objects belong to Rick style="text-decoration: line-through;" please dont sue me/span/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"_/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Nico di Angelo stared at the large portrait occupying the whole room. The portrait was of his mother, sister and him. He usually didn't stay in Cabin Thirteen, or at Camp, but he had to. His father commanded it. br /He turned his gaze to the windows of the cabin. They were covered by black curtains, as usual. He walked from his bed to the windows and opened the curtains a little bit, enough to be able to see out but too small for people to see in. It was a normal day –or as normal as it ever will be- at Camp Half-Blood. br /He saw satyrs chasing around nymphs and dryads. The Hermes Cabin playing pranks at the Demeter and Aphrodite Cabin while the two cabins tried to exact their revenge. He looked over to where Percy was, Annabeth holding his arm as they laughed at Leo who set himself on fire again. He saw his half-sister, Hazel Levesque, holding hands with Frank Zhang, the shape-changing, son of Mars. br /br /The Romans were visiting Camp Half-Blood again. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"They made it a habit to visit every month to maintain the peace between the two camps, though, on some occasions, the Greeks would visit them at their Camp in Los Angeles. br /br /Nico also observed that the tension that used to surround Reyna whenever Jason was around was beginning to dissolve. He saw her laughing as she tried to put out the flaming Valdez. He saw his 'friends', as they called themselves, just hanging out and having fun, like normal teenagers. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He so envied them. He wanted to be able to hang-out with them and just have fun, but he knew he couldn't. He knew how scared his friends were of him. He knew that they wouldn't accept him if he tried to hang-out with them. br /He closed the curtains and sat on one of the two couches of the cabin. He put his head in his hands and thought of how much he wanted to join them in their laughter, to be a normal teenager. But it was impossible. He knew it was because no one would accept him. They would shun him like they always have. He sighed. It was hopeless. He would never find a real friend, much less a girlfriend. br /br /He remembered the events of the past summer. He remembered the events that haunted him for so long. Having to admit his former crush on Percy Jackson to Cupid while Jason Grace watched still gave him nightmares. Though he'd gotten over Percy, he couldn't help but envy him. Percy Jackson has everything Nico truly wants. He has a family that loves and cares for him, friends that accept him for his true self and…a girlfriend who he loves with all his heart and loves him right back. And Nico has none of those. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. He turned his head to see Hazel coming in. She didn't know yet that he was here. When she noticed him, she gasped./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Nico," she said in a shushed tone. Why? He didn't know. "What are you doing here? I thought you didn't like staying at Camp."br /He sighed. "Hades sent me here." He said /"Why?" She /Nico shrugged. "Didn't say." br /But he knew anyway. He decided not to tell Hazel about it. br /The truth might shock her. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He came here, by orders of his father, to welcome a newbie. A spawn of Poseidon. No one knew of another living spawn of the Big Three, much less a spawn of Poseidon. The eldest gods once swore never to have half-blood children. Only Hades kept his word. That was why, his father had said, it was important that he not tell anyone about the arrival of the spawn. His father would always use that word to talk of the arriving child. He would never specify the gender for some unknown reason. It was also a weird reasoning that his father would use the pact made in the days of the War, the start of the First Great Prophecy, since the pact was already disregarded./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" "Um…so…you're going to the dining pavilion?" Hazel asked, interrupting his thoughts once more. "Chiron said he was going to announce important news. It kind of scares me by how he said it. I hope it's not another threat." She added./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yeah," He answered. "And, hopefully, you're right. I don't need monsters, giants, or other deadly magical beings chasing after me right now." He continued. She gave a small smile. He smiled back. He can only really act relatively normal around Hazel, considering how she can sort of understand his loneliness./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hazel…"He sighed, as he watched her get a few things from her backpack on her bed. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hmm?" She turned her head ever so slightly to let him know she was listening./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""When you go the dining pavilion, could you please not mention my presence here to anyone? I don't want them to know just yet." She turned to face him and walked over to where he was seated./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""If something's bothering you, Nico, you know you can talk to me about it." She said reassuringly, squeezing his hand./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It's nothing, just don't tell them yet. Okay?" He squeezed her hand in return./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Okay."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"—-/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Annabeth kept looking over her shoulder to Chiron for the whole of dinner in the pavilion. He had announced he had something important to tell them later on, during the Camp Fire Sing-Along, and it had worried her. Usually, when Chiron had something important to tell them, she had been the first to know. But now, Chiron didn't tell her anything. It worried her when the centaur kept things from her. Although he would be announcing it soon, it still bothered her that she didn't know. She was a child of Athena, after all./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Hey," Malcolm whispered to her, snapping her back to reality. "You've been looking back and forth between your food and Chiron for the entire time with a weird expression on your face. Something wrong?" He glanced at her and she knew he was worried./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"His tone was light, though, careful not to betray any of his concern, but his face gave it away./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It's nothing…" She sighed. "It's just, whenever Chiron would announce something important, he'd usually tell me about it first."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Maybe he doesn't want to worry you."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yeah…that's making me even more nervous…"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Sorry, it's probably not too important. Maybe that's why he didn't tell you."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yeah, you're right." She sighed and looked at her food. She barely touched them. She started eating, her body had a new-found appetite./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"_/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"A shrill cry pierced through the tension in the room just as Chiron was about to speak. This seemed to shake the demigods. They looked around for the source of the noise until someone screamed,/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Outside the barriers! Look!"/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"The demigods brought out their weapons and armed themselves for a fight. Led by Percy and Jason, they headed to the barriers. br /Once they arrived there, what they saw awed, scared, shocked or disgusted them. What made the noise was apparently a /br /About age sixteen with midnight black hair and clear blue eyes, she would be very pretty, except for the fact that she was bleeding like hell. The girl was pinned to a tree by a Cyclopes who was about to pierce through her with a celestial bronze blade. Quick on his feet, Percy ran to the Cyclopes and slashed him through with his sword. As soon as the blade went in the Cyclopes skin, it dissolved to dust, blown away by the wind. br /The girl fell from where she was being held against by the Cyclopes and crumpled into a ball once she hit the ground. She whimpered. Her face and body were covered in cuts and wounds, and her shirt was stained with an alarmingly huge amount of red. The demigods, finally getting over their shock, ran to her. Percy was first to be at her side. "It's gonna be alright." He said, reaching out to touch her cheek. br /"Aagh!" She screamed the moment their skin had made contact. She swatted him away with what little energy she had left and cowered under the feet of the person standing nearest to them, hidden in the shadows. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Nico stepped out of the shadow and crouched down to her level. "So you're the one he was talking about…" He mumbled to himself. br /Hesitantly, he reached out his hand to brush off hair that had stuck to her face with blood. His hand shook slightly, wondering if he would get the same reaction Percy got if he touched her. br /He was surprised to see she didn't scream or panic at the contact. Instead, he felt her relaxing at his touch. Soon, he found himself holding her in his arms./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""It's okay," He whispered as he carried her to the others./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He was greeted with surprised gasps as the campers saw him emerge with her in his arms. /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Nico? I thought you were in the cabin." Hazel was first to speak./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""I heard something, so I shadow-traveled to where everyone was." Nico explained as he made his way inside the barrier. "Anyway, shouldn't you guys be giving her some medical attention? I'm no healer, but even I can tell she won't last that long anymore." /p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Will stepped in front of him and took her in his arms./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Thanks for carrying her here." He said, before hurrying into the big house. /p 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I know Nico's a bit OOC. It's hard for me to get his character right. I'm gonna try, but I wont try that hard so yeah...  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The characters, locations and everything else belongs to Rick Riordan. Please don't sue me.**

* * *

"Ugh…" Alisha groaned. She felt heavy and disoriented, but nothing felt painful. She opened her eyes. The first thing she could make out was a wooden ceiling. "What the…" She whispered to herself as she tried to sit up. She was having a hard time since her head was still throbbing like hell.  
"I could help you," She heard it from the corner of the sounded deep, like a male's voice.

"I could help you sit up, if you like." Then there was a figure standing at her side. She hadn't said anything to him yet, but he already had his arms around her. Helping her up, he offered her a glass of…whatever when she was comfortably seated on her bed. "Here, drink this," He said, holding out a glass. "It'll help make you feel better."

Alisha was still trying to assess the situation. She didn't know where she was, nor did she know the man who helped her sit up and was now offering her a beverage. Worst case scenario: He could be a crazy psychopath who was planning to poison her, or maybe he was some sort of monster who wanted to drug her so he'd be able to eat her or something, but if he did he would have already done it when she was asleep… Come to think of it, he didn't even look nearly as ugly as all the monsters she encountered, nor did he look like a psycho. He was actually pretty good-looking. Dark hair and even darker eyes, his skin the complete contrast being a pale white, he could have been a god. Maybe he was one. Whichever he was, he was still a stranger and Alisha had a rule about strangers: Never trust anything they offered you. Not even if it were a million dollars and they were already holding it out to you. You could never be too sure about them.

She shook her head.

"Sorry," She said weakly. Her voice was hoarse, and when she spoke it felt like fire was burning her throat. "I don't accept things from strangers. Even if they're as good-looking as you." She smiled wryly at him, pushing the glass away. He sighed.  
"Okay, I understand." He smiled at her, and continued. "I'm Nico di Angelo, and you're in Camp Half-Blood. There, now we're acquainted, so drink up."  
He pushed the cup back to her, and before she could protest that it didn't work that way and they were still technically strangers, pressed it to her lips, forcing the liquid down her throat. She took a moment to marvel at the taste of it.

It tasted like hot vanilla, mixed with chocolate chips. Something her aunt Kat made her when she visited them at the dig site in Egypt, back when she was still allowed to visit them them, when she wasn't 'exiled' by her stepfather's snooty older sister Matilda.

"Feeling better?" She was brought out of her musings by the raven haired boy, Nico, who was observing her in a chair beside her bed.

She nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. I guess you're not a monster after all." She meant it. She wasn't one to trust strangers easily, but here was this boy who was helping her sit up and giving her magic beverages that tasted like home. Also, she felt so much better since he chugged it down her throat.

She felt like she could lift a hundred men, and the throbbing in her head had stopped.

Nico looked at her curiously. "You thought I was…a monster?" Sigh. Of course the new girl would think that. Almost everyone thought that about him. Why would she be any different

Alisha's eyes widened as she saw his face harden at her words. She hurriedly explained. "No! No, no. That's not what I meant."

She was shaking her head, her eyes pleading him to understand.

" I just…I've encountered a lot of monsters so far, and I just thought, I shouldn't trust you because you might be a monster in disguise- I've ran into some, actually. They looked like pretty cheerleaders, but then they tried to eat me- so I thought you could be something like that, but you were helping me out a lot and you were smiling and offering me a nice drink that not only helped me feel better but also reminds me of home and I thought 'Oh, so he's not a bad guy I guess.' And…yeah…I…think…you're…not a monster…really…nice…actually…" She talked fast. As a result, she was panting by the end of her explanation

Nico's face softened at her. He was confused because of her attempt at making him feel better, but he appreciated it nonetheless. He also appreciated what she said about him being really nice, and smiling.

"You think I'm nice?" He said, chuckling at the cute expression she was making as she caught her breath. "Just you wait. When you're asleep…I'll eat you!" He jumped at her a bit at the last part, making her scream a little. He laughed at her reaction. "Hey!" She cried out when she recovered from the surprise. She punched his arm playfully. "No fair! I thought we were friends!"  
He stopped laughing at her words.

"…Friends?" Nico questioned, his face devoid of emotion. "I don't even know your name." _You don't even know how powerful I am. I could hurt you, if you ever got close._

"Well, we could be." She said, tilting her head a bit in confusion at his reaction. "Oh and yeah, sorry, right, I'm Alisha Grayson. I hope we can be friends. You're pretty fun to talk to." She offered her hand to him. He shook his head, refusing to shake her hand. "Um…sorry, did I say something insensitive?" She looked up at him with apologetic blue eyes. "If I did, please, tell me."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Nico said, his voice even and cold. It made her shiver a bit. "People just don't like being friends with me."

Oh. That was it. _So he's kind of like me. _"So we're a bit alike then." She said, grabbing his hand and shaking it excitedly. When their skin touched, she felt a surge of power wash over her. This feeling increased when she saw him smiling. She smiled back.  
"Hey, did you feel tha-" Before she could ask him what it was she felt and if he felt it too, the door swung open and he was gone.

Standing at the doorway was a middle aged man in a wheelchair, accompanied by a tall girl with blonde hair in a ponytail. Next to the girl was a guy with messy black hair and sea green eyes. She felt like she saw those eyes before. They smiled at her, before coming closer.

"Hello, there," The man in the wheelchair spoke. His tone was soothing, like he was talking to a child. "I see you've awoken. Are you feeling better?"

She nodded, and told them that a Nico di Angelo made her feel better. They looked at her oddly, like she had grown an extra head.

When she was about to explain that he had gone the moment they entered the door, the man smiled again and spoke.

"Ah…I see you have met one of the other campers already, though that boy doesn't stay here too often. He's…a…how you say, mysterious person. It's a surprise he's helped you that much. Maybe he's taken a liking to you." He smiled even more at his last words.

"Wow. You've already got Nico as your friend. I'm pretty sure you'll get along really well with everyone else then." The green-eyed boy, Percy, smiled at her, offering his hand while the girl, Annabeth, asked Alisha her name. She shook Percy's hand shyly, as she said in a soft voice: "Hi, I'm Alisha."

Annabeth smiled at her. For some reason these people really smiled a lot. Alisha didn't like it, but she didn't show it. She hated it when people smiled much more than necessary. It's like they've got this unlimited supply of smiles and they aren't afraid to use it up. She liked Nico's smile though. It didn't seem forced. Like he only did it when he felt like it. Like he rarely ever smiled.

"Since you've already had your fill of nectar, why don't we show you around the camp?" Annabeth said, helping her out the bed.  
"My fill of what?" Alisha looked at her, puzzlement written on her face.  
"Nectar, the drink of the gods. As a demigod, you can drink that to give you power, but you can't drink too much or you'll burn up. Literally. Same goes for Ambrosia." Annabeth explained.  
"Oh, okay." Alisha nodded her head as she followed Percy and Annabeth out the door.

* * *

"So those are the cabins?" Alisha asked, pointing to the houses that were surrounding a hearth. She saw a girl at the hearth earlier and waved to her, Percy asked her what she was doing and she stopped.

"Yeah," Annabeth answered. Alisha noticed that Annabeth was the one who answered most of her questions while Percy gave the sassy remarks. "You're put in the cabin of your godly parent."  
"Oh. So which is yours?"  
"Athena's my mother, so that one." Annabeth pointed to the cabin with an owl for its symbol.  
"Cool. So that explains why you're the smart one in the relationship."  
She blushed. Percy said something about Annabeth looking cute while she blushed and Annabeth punched his arm.  
Alisha laughed. "You guys are so adorable!"

It was true. They were so cute together, so right for each other. She laughed at their cuteness, but she couldn't help but feel repulsed by it too.  
The last time she saw a couple this cute was back when her- no. No.  
Alisha shook her head, trying to erase her thoughts.  
No, she would not think of that while she was here. Not when she came here to get away from those things.

She looked around, observing what everyone else was doing. It seemed there were many ways to spend time at camp. She was particularly interested in sword-fighting as she wanted to have an excuse to show-off the bracelet Hephaestus made for her, but she knew she'd have to stay away from the lime light. At least until she felt like she could trust these people whole-heartedly, not just because it was the only way she'd survive.

She spotted a familiar patch of black hair in the sword-fighting arena, so she walked towards it, leaving Annabeth and Percy alone to bicker.

Nico hacked and slashed through the dummies placed around the arena. Within moments they were all battered beyond recognition. He panted, catching his breath after the small workout.

"Wow. I guess they did something horribly offending to you, huh? I mean jeez, it's like they killed an entire village the way you went through them, slicing them in half." Someone spoke behind him.

By instinct, he spun around, pointing his blade to the throat of the speaker. He saw none other than Alisha Grayson standing there. Her hands rose in the air like she did something wrong. She had a cocky grin plastered on her face.

"Do it." She purred, challenging him to strike her. Nico dropped the blade as if it were hot iron.  
"Sorry," He mumbled, looking at his shoes. "Didn't know it was you."  
"So you point a sword at them?" She said, dropping her hands and pointing towards the other campers who were laughing and playing at the strawberry fields.  
"Yeah, whenever they annoy me." He said coldly, bending down to pick up his sword.

"Sorry, was I annoying? Tell me, if I was. I try my very best to be." Alisha smiled at him.  
"Don't you mean you try your best not to be?" Nico looked at her in confusion.  
"Nope," And with that, fast as lightning she swiped the celestial bronze blade from Nico and ran.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going with that?!" He yelled, running after her.  
"You'll see! Just try and catch me." She shouted back at him.

She ran past confused campers and scared satyrs until she reached the patch of trees that marked the entry of the forest. She stopped for a moment, putting the sword in her empty sheathe and tying her hair in a ponytail. She looked behind her to see if Nico had caught up with her only to find that he was nowhere near her. She giggled to herself.

"Nico di Angelo, weaknesses: can't run very fast." She whispered mostly to herself.

"What was that about not being able to run fast?" She heard someone behind her, but before she could turn around to see who it was, she was wrapped up in a cold embrace, pale arms placed on her hips not allowing her to move.

"Eep!" Alisha squealed, squirming against Nico's hold.  
"Who needs to run when you can shadow-travel?" He whispered beside her ear, making her shiver. His hold on her still firm, one arm took his sword from her sheathe. He put it back in its place at his side and let Alisha go.

She was about to thank him for being kind enough to her, but she started laughing so hard that she couldn't form any proper words.

Nico was tickling her.

"Stop...Nico, stop! …Haha…s-stop…please…" She had tears in her eyes and was collapsed on the ground when Nico had stopped.

"This is why you don't mess with my shit." Nico said, beginning to walk away. Alisha grabbed his hand and pulled him down.

"Hey!" Nico exclaimed indignantly as he landed on top of her, accidentally pinning her down.

They noticed the position they were in. Alisha lying sprawled on the ground with Nico on top of her, pinning her at the sides.

Nico, blushing, began to move away. She giggled at the sight, righting herself as well.

"I don't see why those people told me you were so hard to talk to. You seem really fun to me." She was smiling at him again. For some reason, she found herself smiling a lot with this boy.

"Who said that?" Nico's voice had an edge to it. He glanced at her from his peripheral vision, but was facing the cabins, watching the other campers.

"Chiron did. So did that guy uh… I think his name was Percy? Anyway, I really hope we can become friends." She said, standing up and brushing the dirt from her clothes.

Nico stood up as well. "What is it with you and wanting to be my friend?" He said, looking at her now. He looked irritated, but his voice sounded confused and almost…lonely.

"Why? Is something wrong with that? I like you, and I'd like to know you further."

"You don't even know me. You can't already say that you like me."

"Yes, I can. Within the past hour I was here, you had taken care of me _and _made me feel welcome. I sort of owe you. I want to be your friend."

"It's not a big deal. Besides, you wouldn't like me once you got to know me."

"Oh really? And what makes you say that?"

"Because that's how everyone else acts,"

"From what I heard, you push them away."

"They don't understand."

"I can try."

"…"

That silenced him. He'd never seen someone try so hard to hang out with him, let alone be friends with him. He'd always wanted someone to talk to. Maybe she was right. Maybe he should start opening up. Well, she looked like a good start. Besides, Hades did say something about warming up to her.

"Okay, fine. You can be my friend."

"Yes!" She fist pumped the air and flashed him another smile. "I promise you won't regret that decision!"  
He chuckled at her. Well she was gonna be a handful.


	3. Chapter 3

p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"A/N: He's OOC. You're warned. I'm not good at characterizing Nico. br /Disclaimer: I own nothing. Characters, settings and everything else belongs to Rick Riordan./p  
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p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""So, Nicky, can I call you Nicky?" Alisha was poking Nico's arm as he showed her around the camp, finishing the tour that Annabeth and Percy had begun. br /"No. My name's Nico. Not Nicky, not 'neeks', and definitely as hell not Nikola." He sighed, rubbing his arm where she poked it. br /"Okay then, it's settled. I'm calling you Nicky." Alisha giggled./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Nico exasperatedly ran a hand through his hair. "You're really annoying, you know that?" br /"I know." The girl said, smiling at him. She did that a lot around him, he noticed./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"emThere is no way I'm going to get along with her. Once she finds out what I'm capable of, she's gonna-/embr /"Hey, Nico?" She called out to him. She was looking at the cabins again. br /"What?" He asked, walking to her side. br /"How do I find out who my godly parent is?" She was watching the Stolls prank other campers. br /"Well, they claim you." br /"How do they do that?" She sat down on the grass, still watching, mesmerized by the fun. br /Nico sighed and sat down beside her. br /"They send you a sign."br /"What sign?" She was looking over at him now. Her eyes big and curious, like a kid who just discovered toast. br /"Well, it depends."br /"Depends on what?"br /"Who your godly parent is. Like, if you're a child of Aphrodite, you're claimed by her symbol, the dove." br /"Oh. So if I were a daughter of …say, Poseidon, I'd be claimed by a trident?"br /"Yeah, but that's impossible. Poseidon doesn't have many half-blood children, only Percy." emIdiot, you already know she's probably the daughter of Poseidon Hades mentioned. /embr /"Really?" She moved her gaze to her feet, playing with the laces of her shoes. "Why is that?" She looked uncomfortable, like she knew something. emMaybe she already knows who her dad is? br /emNico shrugged. "The Big Three, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, made a pact to never have half-blood children again, after World War II."br /"Why?" br /"There was a prophecy about a half-blood child of the eldest gods either saving or destroying Olympus, but the oath they made was already disregarded after they found out Percy was the child in the prophecy and he saved the world," He glanced at the great pavilion. emDinner time. /em"But that's a story for another time. C'mon, dinner. You're probably starving." He stood up, holding out a hand for her. She took his hand and used it to help herself up./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Thanks," She whispered as they walked up to the dining hall. "You're being very nice to me."br /He looked behind him, where she was walking a couple of paces back, and smiled. "Isn't that what friends do?"br /"I thought you didn't have friends?"br /"Doesn't mean I don't know how to treat one."br /She smiled back at him, reached out for his hand, and gave it a squeeze. br /The gesture made his stomach jump./p  
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p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"After a period of walking in friendly silence, Alisha spoke up again. "Nico, you said I stay in the Hermes Cabin since I haven't been claimed yet, right?" br /He nodded. br /"But what if I'm never claimed?" Her voice was faint, but he heard it. br /"That won't happen." He said firmly. br /"But what if it does?" Her voice was softer than before. br /"It won't happen because they made a pact to claim their children when they turn thirteen."br /"But, Nico, look at me," Her voice was so soft he had to stop walking just to hear it. "I'm sixteen, and I haven't been claimed yet."br /"Then I'm sure they'll claim you soon enough."br /"And what if they never do?" She was on the verge of tears. br /"That won't happen." br /"It will, Nico. It emwill happen /embecause I'm pathetic and no divine being would want me for a daughter." Silent tears rolled down her cheek. She quickly wiped them away with the palm of her hand and turned around, so he couldn't see her. "Sorry, sorry. You didn't need to see that. Now you probably think I'm pathetic too."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Nico wasn't usually the one for hugs, but he made an exception. He was making a lot of exceptions today. He hugged her from behind. br /"Look, you're not pathetic, okay?" He whispered, cradling her in his arms. "I don't think you're pathetic. I mean, look at you. To be honest, you're pretty. I think you're beautiful. You're amazing. You've convinced me to be your friend, and I barely even know you. You've made me open up today more than anyone ever has in a year. You're awesome, and your godly parent better damn claim you or they're gonna be hearing shit from me." Nico knew he wasn't good with comforting people, so he just let whatever was on his mind flow out from his mouth. He didn't realize what he said until he finished saying it, and he blushed. He let go of her and turned away, too./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Do you, do you really mean that?" She was sniffling, but there was a warmth in her voice that made his heart swell. emYes, of course I do. Why would I say all that embarrassing shit if I didn't mean it?/em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Yeah, I do." br /She took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You're really good at this whole 'friends' things." br /"I guess I learn from the best."br /She giggled. "Thanks. It's making me feel better knowing that you don't think I'm a pest."br /"You might be annoying, but at least you're tolerable." He said, ruffling her hair. "Now, c'mon, I'm starving."/p  
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p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Alisha watched everyone on the Hermes table eat. She was told she could eat whatever she wanted, but she didn't really have an appetite today. Nico, she saw, was the complete polar opposite. He devoured his food like a hungry lion who hasn't eaten for days. Well, to be fair, he looked like he hadn't eaten in days, too. br /"Does he always eat like that?" Alisha asked the Stoll twin sitting beside her. She couldn't tell if it were Conner or Travis, they looked too much alike. br /He shrugged. "Dunno. We've never seen him eat here before." br /"Oh, thanks." Alisha looked back at Nico, confused. br /emSo he doesn't like being around these people to the point of starving himself? Wow. Okay, we'll get rid of /emIn all honesty, she was warming up to Nico admirably fast and he was warming up to her at the same pace. Something about Nico made her want to trust him. Maybe it was just that he was the first person to help her, or maybe it was something else. She shrugged it off, and concentrated on poking her mashed potatoes. emWhatever it is, if it's important, I'll find out. I always do./em/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"As she carefully took a bite of the soggy mashed potatoes, she saw everyone on their table was getting up and heading to the big fire in the middle, which, according to Nico was the scared fire. br /"Wha's up?" She asked through the /"Sacrificing to our godly parent. C'mon." One of the Stolls, Conner maybe, or was it Travis? Whoever it was, called her over. She stood up, taking her plate with her, and followed them. "All you have to do is get the best part of your food and throw it in the fire, it'll reach the gods on Olympus."br /"But I thought they only ate ambrosia and nectar?"br /"Yeah, but they like the smell."/p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"When they got closer to the fire, Alisha found out what they meant. She was expecting to smell burnt coal, but it was the complete opposite. She could really see why the gods liked to smell this stuff. It was almost as good as eating it./p  
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It was her turn to sacrifice something. She took the best part of her steak and threw it in. br /emDad, whoever you are, please claim me. I really want to know you. /em/p 


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